At various talks i have given the subject of handling the queen has come up.
Most beginners are timid about picking up a queen by her wings let alone
putting a dot on her.
My solution is for beginners to practice on DRONES. We bring a cricket
cage(like used for fishing )full of drones to the class. We practice
catching the drones by their wings and marking them. The drones will
sometimes  buzz unlike a queen (maybe a male thing!)but beginners get used
to catching and marking. Also a fun activity for a bee club. I could not
find drone marking in the archives so thought needed adding.
Bob Harrison U.S.A.